# Please explain to me why this Trump/Ukraine thing is a big deal **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 22, 2019, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633 "2019-09-22T00:53:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/141 "2019-09-26T18:07:46Z")
Zelensky also has extensive experience as a comic actor, even if this gig is improv, not scripted. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/143 "2019-09-26T18:26:27Z")
I reported that cyrillic post, so no one else needs to. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/144 "2019-09-26T18:27:14Z")
> [@sergejkuznecov](#): > > Космолот [https://www.kosmolot.com.ua/](https://www.kosmolot.com.ua/) – официальное игровое заведение от Украинской Национальной Лотереи. Наши посетители могут сыграть в азартные игры разных видов и поучаствовать в турнирах. У нас доступны платные и бесплатные версии аппаратов. Reported as spam. Translation: > [@](#): > > official gaming establishment from the Ukrainian National Lottery. Our visitors can gamble and participate in tournaments. We have paid and free versions of the devices available. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/145 "2019-09-26T18:27:31Z")
Coded message from the Russians. My Russian is rusty but it says something about the “Manchurian Candidate”. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2019, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/146 "2019-09-26T18:28:50Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I reported that cyrillic post, so no one else needs to. It’s an ad for the “Ukrainian National Lottery”, if you’re wondering. I’m sure it’s all aboveboard. Its placement in this thread can only be a coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/147 "2019-09-27T00:20:09Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I may be giving Zelensky too much benefit of the doubt, but I still think he’s keenly aware that in dealing with Trump he is handling a dangerous mental patient that has chewed his way out of his restraints. You want to avoid angering him as you slowly back out of the room. Yep. You also don’t want the headlines when you go home to say “President Zelensky lets Ukraine get pushed around by crazy American.” That wouldn’t be good for either himself or his country. His “I don’t want to be involved” answer was pretty good for the moment and can be expanded upon later in more than a sound bite for a Ukranian journalist. ---
**Author:** ![Grsz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grsz11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grsz11)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/148 "2019-09-27T02:06:23Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Zelensky also has extensive experience as a comic actor, even if this gig is improv, not scripted. He played the President in a TV show where he was elected as a high school teacher who had a viral video about, get this - corruption in Ukraine. Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/149 "2019-09-27T02:42:43Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Well, he said on TV that he wasn’t pressured. He sat in front of a TV camera while Trump stared him down and claimed he didn’t feel pressured. One of the most surreal things I’ve seen with this administration, rivaled only by Trump considering the extradition of Bill Browder in exchange for Russia’s help in combating election interference. I saw that footage. The poor guy looked like the hostage in a proof-of-life video. All he needed was an ISIS fighter kitted out with a balaclava and an AR-15 standing behind him to complete the picture. Nope, nope, nope. Not pressured at all. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/150 "2019-09-27T09:09:07Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > My last post here as the OP requested this one ends, but please stop calling it a “transcript” when the official document calls itself a “memorandum of a telephone conversation” and _literally has a disclaimer saying that the document “is not a verbatim transcript”_. > > Thank you. > > [https://twitter.com/PoliticusSarah/status/1176878097079185408?s=20](https://twitter.com/PoliticusSarah/status/1176878097079185408?s=20) That disclaimer looks a lot like arse covering in the event there’s an error. I would be surprised if there were any significant differences between what was recorded and what was said. The disclaimer itself states that staffers are specifically assigned to record the conversation. It reads as though it’s as close to a transcript as you can get without physically recording the audio and transcribing it from that. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/151 "2019-09-27T09:22:39Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > That disclaimer looks a lot like arse covering in the event there’s an error. I would be surprised if there were any significant differences between what was recorded and what was said. The disclaimer itself states that staffers are specifically assigned to record the conversation. It reads as though it’s as close to a transcript as you can get without physically recording the audio and transcribing it from that. That’s probably true, and 99% of the time the difference between the two things in your last sentence wouldn’t matter, but this time they just might. A single omitted word (not for nefarious reasons) could make all the difference for some on-the-fencers, in the voting public as well as in positions of power during the impeachment process. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/152 "2019-09-27T10:07:04Z")
For example, if in a phone conversation Trump talked about about getting dirt on H. Biden, Zelensky assenting, and then Trump talked about how the security assistance would be delivered soon, Republicans could spin this as simply changing to a different subject — but if the pivot started with the word “now” — e.g., “We’ll deliver that assistance soon” vs. “Now, we’ll deliver that assistance soon” — that little three-letter word could be a big deal, and could have been innocently omitted from the almost-a-transcript. (Just to be clear, _I_ don’t need to hear that “now” to deem this an impeachable offense, but some people might.) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/153 "2019-09-27T10:33:53Z")
My newspaper reports today that one part of the whistleblower’s complaint states that a full verbatim transcript of the conversation was removed from the usual computer storage system and transferred to a high-security, limited access database. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/154 "2019-09-27T10:47:04Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > My newspaper reports today that one part of the whistleblower’s complaint states that a full verbatim transcript of the conversation was removed from the usual computer storage system and transferred to a high-security, limited access database. Yes, that is a (likely) huge part of all this. Eric Swalwell well explained what we know so far during the questioning of McGuire yesterday. Clearly, multiple people privy to the call understood right away it was likely a serious ethical breach or worse. This undercuts much of the White House contention that the call was routine — AND in itself appears to be an unethical act (or worse), though probably not at Trump’s request. Basically, Trump is too dumb to realize what he did was wrong. This is a sliver of hope for his supporters — that, unlike Nixon, Trump wasn’t part of the cover-up, because Trump never thought (and still doesn’t understand) that there was anything _to_ cover up. Personally, that scares me more — I’d rather have a self-aware crook in the White House than a complete and utter moron — but I guess it might make the cover-up portion of this incident less damning (to Trump) than otherwise, in the eyes of some. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/156 "2019-09-27T18:30:50Z")
Reported ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/157 "2019-09-27T18:45:32Z")
I ran that spam through the Google translator. Turns out the spammer works in a nail salon and would like you to visit an online casino. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/158 "2019-09-27T18:49:14Z")
Just had a thought: Anybody think that from Putin’s viewpoint, seeing his puppet go rogue, trying to get his vig off a shipment of weapons sent to kill Putin’s expensive tanks and crews in alliance with Putin’s enemy… … you think Putin is pissed about this? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/159 "2019-09-27T18:49:25Z")
I need something cleared up: Was the Ukraine money Trump was holding hostage ever released? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/160 "2019-09-27T18:50:40Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Just had a thought: > > Anybody think that from Putin’s viewpoint, seeing his puppet go rogue, trying to get his vig off a shipment of weapons sent to kill Putin’s expensive tanks and crews in alliance with Putin’s enemy… > > … you think Putin is pissed about this? Hell no. Remember: the ultimate goal was to destabilize the American government. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/161 "2019-09-27T19:20:36Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I need something cleared up: Was the Ukraine money Trump was holding hostage ever released? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633/162 "2019-09-27T20:01:45Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Just had a thought: > > Anybody think that from Putin’s viewpoint, seeing his puppet go rogue, trying to get his vig off a shipment of weapons sent to kill Putin’s expensive tanks and crews in alliance with Putin’s enemy… > > … you think Putin is pissed about this? It’s not that he went rogue: Trump tried to block the aid to Ukraine for 7 months. It’s just that when the pressure built to provide Ukraine with the support, Trump decided to use it as a chip to get something for himself. We have the president trying to bribe a foreign government (a crime) and he uses military aid paid for by American taxpayers to pay the bribe. What’s amazing is how simple it all really is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-explain-to-me-why-this-trump-ukraine-thing-is-a-big-deal/840633.md?page=9)